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Click on the Parashah name to display the summary. Haftarah and Brit Chadashah readings are included in each Torah portion.

Genesis (Bereshit)

The Book of Genesis is concerned with beginnings: the creation of the universe and the origin of humanity. It quickly moves from universal history (Adam, Noah, Babel) to the history of the Abraham, the first Jew. The remainder of the book focuses on the lives of the Jewish patriarachs, and especially the story of Joseph. The book ends with the entire family of Jacob migrating to Egypt to escape famine through the auspices of Joseph.

There are fifty chapters in Genesis, divided into twelve parashiyot:

Exodus (Shemot)

In Exodus, the Hebrews become a nation. The book tells of the Israelites' enslavement, and subsequent deliverance with the 10 plagues by the hand of the LORD. Moses leads the people out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea. They arrive at Sinai, where they receive the Torah. While Moses is on the mountain, the people worship a Golden Calf. The remainder of the book describes the details and construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).

There are forty chapters in Exodus, divided into eleven parashiyot:

Leviticus (Vaiyikra)

The Book of Leviticus is the book of the Levitical priesthood, concerning ritual and sacrificial laws pertaining to the Mishkan (tabernacle, and later the Temple). The book  describes the details of offering various sacrifices to the LORD, and especially emphasizes ritual purity and holiness. In fact, nearly half of the 613 commandments of the Torah are found in this book (and much of the Talmud is based on it).

There are twenty-seven chapters, divided into ten parashiyot:

Numbers (BeMidbar)

The Book of Numbers details how the tribes of Israel were counted and meticulously arranged into military camp formation around the Mishkan (tabernacle). Led by the Shechinah cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, at first they were en route to the Promised Land - the land of Canaan - which the LORD swore to give to Abraham and his descendants forever. However, the people rebelled and were condemned to wander for 40 years in the desert.

There are thirty-six chapters, divided into ten parashiyot:

Deuteronomy (Devarim)

In the final book of Torah, Moses reviews the history and the laws given to the Jewish people (the Greek name Deuteronomy comes from the phrase Mishneh haTorah (Deut. 17:18), which means "the second telling of the law"). Obeying God's laws will bring blessing, while spurning them will bring disaster. Idolatry is repeatedly denounced.

There are thirty-four chapters, divided into eleven parashiyot.

* Portions marked with an asterisk may be added to the following week’s readings.

There are 54 Torah portions, one for each week of a leap year, so that in the course of a year, beginning and ending on the Simchat Torah, we read the entire Torah in our services. During non-leap years, there are 50 weeks, so some of the shorter portions are doubled up (a leap-year adds an additional month (4 weeks) to the usual 12 (called Adar II); a Jewish calendar will indicate if a year is a leap year). 

During the weeks of Passover and Sukkot, different Torah portions are read, so on leap years that leaves 52 weeks for the 54 readings (2 weeks have double portions), and on non leap years, 48 weeks for the 54 (6 weeks have double portions).

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